But he is perhaps better known for playing museum curator Christian in The Square, which won the Palme d'Or at last year's Cannes Film Festival.

Image copyrightSony PicturesImage caption
The actor can currently be seen in The Girl in the Spider's Web

His performance in the film, a satire on the art world, earned him a European Film Award.

Last month Moffat and Gatiss said Bram Stoker had given "evil its own hero" when he created the iconic vampire in 1897.

Bela Lugosi, Christopher Lee, Gary Oldman and Jonathan Rhys Meyers are among the many actors to have played the character on screen.

The new drama, a co-production between BBC One and Netflix, is being made by Hartswood Films.

Piers Wenger, controller of BBC Drama, said BBC One had "an outstanding new leading man" in Bang and that "Hell had a new boss".

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L to R: Christopher Lee in Dracula Has Risen from the Grave, Gary Oldman in Bram Stoker's Dracula and Dracula as he appears in the Hotel Transylvania films

Filming kicks off next year on a series that will premiere on BBC One in the UK and be shown on Netflix elsewhere.